


The Hundredth You

by 99ureum



Series: ChanSuji Oneshots cos people need to know [3]
Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band), The Ark (Korea Band), UNB (Band), UNI.T (Band)
Genre: Chan just wants to see Suji pls, Chan-centric, Dimension Travel, Dimension Traveler!Chan, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Literally Alternate Universe, Sci-fi but not so much science lol, inspired by Firebird trilogy by Claudia Gray, this is an AU-ception if i would say so myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23907076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99ureum/pseuds/99ureum
Summary: Yuchan wondered if his and Suji's love would truly transcend dimensions.
Relationships: Kang Yuchan | Chan/Lee Suji | Halla
Series: ChanSuji Oneshots cos people need to know [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723138
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	The Hundredth You

**Author's Note:**

> Background: Firebird is a high-tech locket-shaped device that allows the user's consciousness to travel to alternate dimensions so long as alternate versions of themselves exist within that dimension. Each dimension is an alternate reality based on one possibility. Each time a possibility is created or a decision is made, no matter how trivial, a new dimension of reality is created. So in this multiverse, whatever that can happen, does happen, and by using a Firebird, a traveler can see what kind of life they would be living had their circumstances or choices been different. In many worlds, one would probably see the people close to them appearing around them over and over again (not always, but often enough); this is due to the bond that they share that transcends dimensions―fate, if you will. The original body's host will not be aware of what's going on as long as the traveler is in charge of the body unless they are a 'perfect traveler'; which in this story's case, Yuchan is not.

The night was deep. There was nothing but moving shadows and whispers of the wind on a cold winter night. What little left of the silvery moonlight visible through the thick cloud of trees provided little comfort to the pitiful soul who was mourning the limp body in her embrace.  
  
In her trance, Lee Suji let her own tear―and blood―streaked face get consumed by the shadows as her wails continued to echo through the serenity of the dark night, silencing even the distant howls of wild beasts. It sounded so painful, so broken, as if her whole soul had been crushed to pieces, leaving nothing of her behind.  
  
Yuchan opened his eyes to this view. Apparently he was lying down in her arms, though he's not quite sure how they ended up in that position. Through blurred vision he could make out Suji's familiar visage; her deer-like eyes, her slender nose, her soft and pink lips...  
  
It seemed that she's some sort of princess here, judging from the silver phoenix emblem on her hanbok as well as the number of ornate accessories made of jewels, pearls, and jade adorning her hair braided hair. She looked absolutely ethereal. Yuchan wished he could have witnessed this beauty under the sunlight, but for now, the soft glow from the moonlight was enough.  
  
As Suji continued to weep―for a reason Yuchan was yet to decipher―he noticed how half her hanbok top, as well as her right cheek down to her neck was covered in blood. There was a cut along her left cheekbone and a gushing wound on her forehead. Yuchan winced, only now noticing how much the place was reeking of fresh―human―blood.  
  
Anger rose quickly from his chest. _Who had dared to hurt his Suji?_  
  
The sudden surge of negative emotion led Yuchan to be aware for the first time of the stinging pain on his left chest. In that instant, he came to a realization that _oh_ , the blood splattered on Suji's beautiful face might not have belonged to her, after all.  
  
 _"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry....."_  
  
It was also in that instance that Yuchan finally listened to what Suji had been chanting between her sobs and choked up breaths up until that very moment.  
  
 _Ah.... he's dying._ Yuchan thought to himself, eerily calm. By _he_ , he meant _this body_ ―this world's Kang Yuchan, whose body he was occupying at the moment.  
  
Putting two and two together, Yuchan concluded that this world's Yuchan must have been gravely injured while trying to protect his Suji; most likely a sword right through the heart. He might have been her knight, seeing as how Yuchan felt another sword―most likely his own―laying near his limp arm.  
  
Suji continued to cry, continued to apologize. Her whispered pleas of _"don't die, don't leave me"_ also did not go unheard. At that moment, all Yuchan wanted was to wipe her tears, to hug her and tell her that he wasn't going anywhere, that everything was going to be okay.  
  
But of course, that was a silly, impossible hope.  
  
He had lost a fatal few litres of blood and it felt like a few of his vital organs had been punctured. Yuchan knew that there was not much time left, and he knew the original Yuchan was also aware of the fact. He barely had enough energy left to even reach for his Firebird before this world's Yuchan's body finally gave out and drew his last breath. Suji's heart-piercing scream was the last thing he heard before his consciousness completely left that body.  
  
As he made his jump, the only thing clouding Yuchan's mind was how sorry he was for taking away the precious last minutes this Yuchan had left with his Suji, and how much it sucked that he wouldn't be able to go back to that world to console her.... ever again.

* * *

  
  
Yuchan landed mid-pour. He was holding a kettle full of hot milk (good thing he didn't spill when he jumped in) into a cup half-filled with something green-ish. _Is this latte? Matcha maybe?_ Looking down at the dark brown apron that he was wearing, Yuchan figured pretty quickly that he was supppsed to be a barista here. Ok, he can roll with that. Even he had made a few lattes in his time (although he wasn't going to put any money on the hypothetical taste).  
  
Quickly pouring the milk to fill the rest of the cup up, it was beyond fortunate that Yuchan was able to get a glimpse of the screen that had been beside his workstation. It showed a list of drink names, some familiar and some had him frowning ( _what the hell is a "Walnut Caramel Pong Shake"? With 6 pumps of caramel? Was this person trying to get diabetes?_ ); on the top of that list was "Hot Matcha Latte", which Yuchan hoped was this order he was holding in his hands.  
  
"Here's the Hot Matcha Latte," he called, putting the cup on the counter. The guy at the register took one look at the cup and gave him a judgemental stare. Yuchan didn't know what that was about until another voice shrilled from behind  
  
"Kang Yuchan! How many times do I have to tell you that you gotta sprinkle matcha powder on top of this thing? Aesthetics, dude!"  
  
With the voice, came Kwangsuk. He was holding a container full of green powder stuff and with his free hand sprinkled it on top of the latte Yuchan made earlier. He wouldn't admit it back in his own world, to his own Kwangsuk, but he was very glad to see the older's face here.  
  
Somewhat calmed by the appearance of a familiar face, Yuchan told Kwangsuk that he was taking the rest of the day off, blaming his earlier mistake on an over-dramatized headache. Kwangsuk, gullible as he is, completely bought the act and immediately told him with a worried expression to 'get the hell out of here _pronto'_. Yuchan felt a little guilty for using the older's obvious concern like this but he didn't exactly know what else he was supposed to do. He had to fake an excuse before someone made him do the Walnut Caramel Pong Shake.  
  


Yuchan found his employee locker without much trouble and swiftly changed his uniform into the casual attire that he had there: a white tshirt, ocean blue knit cardigan, a pair of seriously ripped jeans, and a black beanie. All things he would pick out himself back in his own world. He let his glasses stay too, figuring he might need it to see. With a black backpack (which he also found inside the locker) in tow, he gave a quick wave goodbye to his coworkers before making his way out of the cafe.  
  
However, before he could even reach the door, Yuchan's steps halted. And probably so did his heart.  
  
As the bell above the entrance door jingled, signaling that someone had entered the cafe, Yuchan's coworkers' call of _"welcome to Starlight Cafe!"_ faded into the background and he stood completely still, eyes fixed on the emerging Lee Suji.  
  
She had her hair down and straightened. It was dyed a dusty blonde color, a fresh change from the usual brown he was used to. She was wearing a white turtleneck, blue jeans, and a black coat, plus a white tote bag and a stack of books in one arm.  
  
She looked _beautiful_. As she always is.  
  
"Oh, you're getting off early today?"  
  
It took a couple seconds for Yuchan to register that she was talking to _him_.  
  
"Me? Ah..... Ah! Yes, I wasn't... I wasn't feeling.... well. So uhh... yes," he stuttered, scratching the back of his head in a habit of nervousness.  
  
A small smile raised on Suji's lips. "That's unfortunate," she nodded. "I hope you uh.... get well soon?"  
  
She wasn't meeting his eyes by now, but Yuchan could see that her ears had gone red and that she was now playing with her fingers― _her_ nervous habit. It was such an adorable sight and Yuchan had to hold down a loud squeak. All of a sudden he felt his own face getting hot. Now, Yuchan knew that he doesn't blush so the fact that he was blushing right now? Could it be.... the original body's reaction?  
  
It made sense to him now. This Yuchan and this Suji, they both liked each other, most probably a whole lot. Yuchan's heart warmed at the thought of yet another world where he and Suji had the chance to be together, to be happy.  
  
He spared one last longing look at her, who still didn't dare to look at him, and decided that he shouldn't tamper with this world any longer, that he should leave this couple to develop their own love story. And maybe in the future, he could come back here, see how it would turn out.  
  
Reaching for his firebird, Yuchan was smiling as he made the next jump.

  
  


* * *

  
  
He was sitting on a chair this time, and immediately he recognized at least 7 cameras a few meters in front of him. The room was bright and music was playing in the background. He wasn't sure what song it was but eh, he didn't hate it. A couple of voices were yelling over the music while others cheered. He quickly realized the source of yelling were the people at the front: one guy and one girl who were dancing their hearts out, two guys sitting separately at the center, and a row of girls and guys on the sides sitting on chairs similar to his own who were cheering for the dancing couple. Yuchan was in the row together with the guys.  
  
Is this some kind of show recording? He wondered. Oh well, for now he decided to just follow the others' lead and cheer. He wasn't really sure what or who to cheer for but the cameras look like they were rolling and he wasn't going to risk getting caught by one of them.  
  
At the moment everyone looked distracted, focusing mostly on the dance battle (a different guy―is that Lee Junyoung?―and girl have now taken the spotlight, but the same intensity of cheering ensued) so Yuchan took the opportunity to study his surroundings and maybe look for more familiar faces.  
  
There was Kwangsuk―again?―this time with brown hair and wow, his face looked smoother than whipped cream here. There was Lee Junyoung, with whom he had worked with a few times back at the lab but wasn't very close with. Yuchan wondered if they were close in this world. There were a couple more faces that he recognized, like Go Hojung and Baek Yebin, with whom he had attended university with. There were a total of 11 males and 9 females in this studio, sans the people behind the cameras, but the rest were not familiar to him. At least they were wearing name tags though.  
  
As Yuchan's gaze traveled down the rows, his breath hitched when he realized that apparently _she_ was also here.  
  
 _Lee Suji_. Eyes sparkling brighter than a billion fireflies, clapping along to the music as she laughed and cheered along with the others. She wasn't looking at him, even as he tried so hard to meet her gaze, she just wasn't looking at him.  
  
 _What relationship do they have here?_ Yuchan decided it might be best to approach her later when all these cameras aren't on them.  
  


The recording went fairly smoothly. He gave a lot of exaggerated reactions to any and everything that the others did, and although at one point he had to perform a dance, his body reacted to the music before his mind could and all was well. Yuchan never thought that he would enjoy dancing around a stage but he did. It was strangely freeing and he knew this world's Yuchan felt the same way.  
  
Then it was the girls' turn to perform and in all honesty, Yuchan didn't think any amount of pep talk was going to prepare him for what was unfolding in front of his eyes.  
  
Suji, in her tight-fitting outfit and smooth, straight hair, had started dancing to a song that chanted _"who run the world?"_. At that moment, if asked, Yuchan would confidently say that Lee Suji was the one who ran _his_ world. He couldn't tear his eyes off her even for a second. She put him in this enchantment and bound his heart forever into her possession. The way she danced, the way her body moved, Yuchan realized now that the muscles in her arms and legs were results of her fiery passion for the stage. She looked so, so happy, like nothing he had ever seen before. It was like she was born for this and Yuchan felt immense joy knowing that Suji was living her life doing what she loved in this world.  
  
After the recording was done and everyone was ushered to their own 'waiting rooms', the only thing Yuchan could think about was how to approach Suji after this. He absentmindedly tailed behind Kwangsuk to the said waiting room and only woke up from his trance at the sound of his name being called.  
  
"Chan-ah! Kang Yuchan!"  
  
He turned around to see a woman, probably in her late twenties, who had an earpiece around her head. She was a head shorter than him and was handing him what seemed to be a phone.  
  
"Your phone has been ringing for the past 10 minutes. Looks like your members are worried about you," she told him, an understanding smile ghosting her lips.  
  
"Oh.... thank you," Yuchan took the buzzing phone from her. He didn't fully understand what she was talking about, but he recognized this device as an older-generation phone back in his world and he figured he was supposed to pick up the call.  
  
 _'Pwark Leader Junhee Hyung'_ was what appeared on the screen as the caller. Yuchan frowned.  
  
 _Junhee hyung?_  
  
"Hello?"  
  
 _"Chan-ah!"_ an oh-so-familiar voice pierced through the speaker. Oh yes, this is definitely the same Junhee that he knew. _"I've been trying to call you for a while. Did the recording just finish?"_  
  
"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that,"  
  
Junhee hummed. _"Nah it's fine,"_  
  
"So.... what's up?"  
  
For a couple seconds the only thing that Yuchan could hear was the sound of the older's breath. He sounded as if there was something that he wanted to say but he was hesitating.  
  
"Hyung?"  
  
 _"No we were just...."_ A sigh. _"We were wondering if you're okay."_  
  
Yuchan frowned. "Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?"  
  
 _"You don't have to lie to me, Chan."_ Junhee sounded pained. _"It's only been, what, not even a month since you broke up with Lee Suji and now you have to be in one room with her.... nobody would be okay in that situation."_  
  
Ok hold up, rewind.  
  
"Suji and I―... we―.... what...?" Yuchan stuttered in disbelief. When he said he wanted to find out what relationship he had with Suji in this world, he hadn't expected _this_. Yuchan felt his eyes getting hot and tears starting to form. This was not what he had come to this world for. Not even close. Hurriedly he muttered an apology to Junhee before cutting off the call and storming out of the room. A couple of the guys he danced with tried to call out to him (Marco? What's the other guy's name? Euijin?) but he wasn't in the right capacity to listen.  
  


It took a few minutes of wandering around the building to find the girls' waiting room. Yuchan didn't have the courage to approach them or to confront Lee Suji directly, and he was pretty sure that wasn't what the original body's owner would have wanted, either. Especially not after he found out what happened with this Yuchan and his Suji. So he hid behind a wall like the 100% stalker and 100% coward that he is. He did, however, manage to get a glimpse of the conversation happening inside.  
  
"You did well, Suji-ya," a girl in an orange blouse―Euijin?―said, patting Suji on her back. The latter simply answered with a weak smile. Gone were the sparkles in her eyes that he had seen during the recording some 30 minutes prior.  
  
"We won't be seeing UNB for a few weeks from now. It sucked that we couldn't do anything about today's schedules but I hope you'll use this time to feel better about yourself, kay?" Yebin chimed, taking Suji's hand in hers and rubbing it gently.  
  
"Thanks unnies," Suji's voice sounded weak and cheerless. Yuchan's heart ached. He knew that this reaction was more than _his_ own reaction. It also came from the original host. "It was hard trying not to look at his face, especially since I can't get myself to believe that I'm not in love with him anymore." A lone tear escaped her eyes, but she was quick to wipe it away. "It hurts that even after everything, I.... I still love him so much."

 _No... no,_ Yuchan put his hands over his ears, pressing his back flat against the wall. He can't listen to this anymore. He didn't know what happened between this Suji and this Yuchan, but even with all the emotions swirling inside him, Yuchan knew that the one who needed to hear how much she still loved him was not _him_ , an outsider Yuchan, but her own Yuchan, who was asleep inside his own head right now. Because however much they were literally the same person, it was this world's Yuchan whom she loved. While him? In this situation he was in no better position than a stranger.  
  
 _Please,_ inputting the coordinates for another random world into his Firebird, Yuchan begged, hoping that the other Yuchan inside this body would hear. _If you can fix this, please fix it. I know you still love her. You have a chance to work it out.... don't lose it._  
  
With that, closing his fingers on the Firebird, he made the final click and jumped away.

* * *

Yuchan was greeted by a bed this time around, which is always a nice welcome when jumping into new dimensions. He was in a small bedroom, probably inside an apartment. There was a big window beside the bed, which let in some rays of light from outside. It wasn't very bright, so Yuchan guessed it was still quite early in the morning. His guess was validated when his eyes caught sight of a digital clock on the bedside table that read 03:54. 

For a few minutes Yuchan tried to close his eyes and just _sleep_. He had been jumping around different worlds and got himself thrown into different scenarios, different lives (and a death) in the span of less than a day and it wasn't just his selfish desires speaking when his brain screamed that he needed rest. Landing on a bed and not having to worry about meeting the host Yuchan's responsibilities for a few hours sounded like heaven to him right now. So in those precious few minutes he let his body give out, mind empty, as he simply indulged in the contrast of the cool air condition hitting his face and the warmth of the blanket cocooning his lower body. He was at peace.

Of course, peace is always meant to be short-lived.

Right when the clock struck 04:02, a howling cry―or is that a scream?―pierced through Yuchan's illusion of peace.

He didn't even have time to react when a being resembling a woman with long black hair stumbled out of the sheets and wobbled out the door. Everything happened so fast that when Yuchan finally registered that something was going on, the screams had ceased, and he found himself half sitting on the bed, blinking in complete shock.

 _What the hell just happened?_ Nobody but himself would be able to give an answer to that.

Groggily, Yuchan found his way out of the bedroom. As soon as he went past the door, it was hard to miss the yellow light coming out from the room next to his. The door to that room was wide open. He found the woman from before standing inside that room, her back was facing him and she was bouncing in a funny way. Taking a few steps closer, it became clearer the the woman was in fact holding a _baby_ in her arms.

Suddenly everything made sense: the cries, the dawnbreak chaos, and the teddy bear shaped nightlight at the corner of the room―which was apparently the source of the yellow light. This was the baby's room, the woman was the baby's mother, and he―Yuchan gulped―was most likely the father.

_Damn it, host Yuchan, you're like... 21, what in the world have you done?_

He stood there for a good few seconds, unmoving, as the fact dawned on him. Don't judge him, it was a lot to process.

In the meantime, the woman seemed to have woken up enough by now to realize that there was someone behind her. Caressing her baby's cheek as it dozed off to slumber, she finally turned her head to face the awe-stricken Yuchan.

"Oppa?"

_Holy mother of―_

If Yuchan wasn't gaping before, he was gaping now. Because in front of him, holding his baby― _their baby_ ―was Lee Suji in all of her glory.

Yuchan felt a wash of emotions surging through his insides because _shit, we're married here. Me and Suji. We're married and we have a baby._ It would be a lie to say that tears didn't well in Chan's eyes. As if on autopilot, he marched toward her and took her in his arms as he showered her with countless kisses and whispers of 'I love you'.

"Oppa, you're going to wake up Woojin," she whispered, pushing him away with her foot. She was smiling though, clearly amused. Figures, it's probably not everyday that this world's Yuchan showered his wife with impromptu love confessions at 4 am. She might've thought that he was still half asleep.

But Yuchan was in fact very awake and very aware of what he was doing. His gaze fell on baby Woojin's (for goodness sake, even his name was perfect. _Woojin. Kang Woojin._ ) sleeping face and he felt impossible happiness from just watching the small creature. Suji only watched him in amusement, letting him drink the sight of the baby as much as he wanted.

Woojin was the most perfect mix of the two of them that Yuchan could ever imagine. He had long eyelashes, Suji's nose, and Yuchan's lips. It was amazing how he could pick out features from the both of them very clearly yet everything melded so seamlessly into one tiny human being. Yuchan hesitantly reached his hand to touch his child, and as if knowing what he wanted to do, Suji held Woojin closer to Yuchan, allowing him to gently stroke the baby's head. 

"What's gotten into you today?" Suji tilted her head, looking up at him. "You're suddenly so emotional―not that I hate it―but did something happen?"

Yuchan smiled, never stopping the movement of his hand on Woojin's head. "Nothing happened. I just realized how much I love you both."

They ended up staying in the room for another half hour after Woojin's long gone back to dreamland and Suji's put him back to his cradle. She had to physically tear Yuchan out from the room because they both had work the next day(that day?) and they were already short of sleeping hours as it is. Yuchan was pouting the whole walk back to his own bed but seeing Suji giggle at the sight seemed worth it.

As they both went back to bed, Suji had naturally gravitated into Yuchan's embrace. He was, of course, very welcoming to it and had let his fingers brush through her hair in an attempt to lull her back to sleep. Suji was clearly exhausted, and had drifted off soon after. Yuchan, however, couldn't feel any sleep coming to him.

This world, this life, was all he ever wanted. A simple life with the love of his life, a small, happy family, raising children who look like the both of them, cuddling each other to bed every night. This life was beyond perfect. So perfect that for a hot minute Yuchan had toyed with the idea of taking it over for himself.

 _But..._ Yuchan landed a kiss on the sleeping Suji's head. _That's not something I want to do_. Taking over someone else's life and fooling this world's Suji until the day he died wasn't his idea of a perfect life. The only reason why he went on this Firebird journey in the first place was simply to find other versions of himself and Suji, to see what they could have been, what they could be. It was to see a glimpse of the infinite possibilities of their love story and to see Suji in all the ways she could turn out to be. But no matter how many versions of Suji he'd met, whether it's the hundreth or thousandth, the ultimate destination would still be his own Lee Suji―his one true home.

Giving one last smile and look at the Suji sleeping peacefully in his arms, Yuchan reached to his Firebird and set the coordinates for his own world.

* * *

Waking up in your own body is very comfortable, as if you'd just woken up from a long slumber. That was what Yuchan heard other travelers say, and he had to agree after experiencing it on his own. He'd woken up on his own bed, with his hands crossed over his chest in the same position as when he first activated the first Firebird jump yesterday. His door looked like it was still locked, just as he left it. He did hang a keep out sign outside, because people coming into a room with only his unobservable body and no consciousness inside would be a recipe for disaster. 

With a grunt, Yuchan rolled off and sat at the edge of his bed. It took him a moment to adjust to his surroundings once again. His sense of reality had cracked in more than one place even if it was his home dimension. Rubbing his eyes, Yuchan's vision finally focused on the set of black suit hanging at the front of his cupboard, ironed and ready for him to wear.

 _Right, I left that there_. He thought.

Taking a few steps toward his cupboard, Yuchan took the hanger off together with the suit and had a good look at it, dusting off invisible dirt on its collars. It was truly a good suit, he supposed.

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door. Seemed like his housemates had heard all the shuffling he did inside the room and realized that he was back.

"Chan-ah?" It was Donghun's voice. "Are you back?"

Yuchan put the hanger back where he hung them before and called back to the direction of the door, "Yeah, I'm here."

"Alright. Shower quickly, kay?" A pause. "Can't let Lee Suji wait for too long."

Sounds of Donghun's footsteps walking away was very clear to Chan's ears. He waited until the footsteps were completely gone before once more turning his gaze toward the suit.

"Of course," he whispered, taking in one of the sleeves into his hand. "I can't let her wait any longer."

**_Fin._**

**Author's Note:**

> I've kept the ending open to interpretation because black suit could mean two things: funeral or wedding. Let it sink to your minds what kind of ending would be more fitting for this story.
> 
> Don't k word me pls :")


End file.
